Themes of the collection

The collection complements the Jewish Studies, Islam and Middle East, and Israel collections, providing background literature on the surrounding cultures, as well as ancillary research tools. The collection consists primarily of titles in English, German and French, alongside selected works in Italian, Spanish, Romanian, Greek, Russian and other languages.

The collection also serves the general scholarly needs of the public, including in disciplines and fields of knowledge that are not among its specialties, such as literature, art and the social sciences.

The National Library holds an authorized and updated collection of classical studies, including classical Greek and Latin literature and their translations into different languages in different publications.

The Christianity collection at the National Library includes sources in several languages and translations from early Christianity onwards, representing different Christian denominations of East and West.

The National Library is the only comprehensive depository library in Israel. As such, it receives most UN publications, including official documents and commercial publications, free of charge. This is the most substantial collection in Israel.